Riding the Storm (15 page)

Ranger took over with the explanations from there, and
Kendra sat in the background and let the two of them talk. Aaron, Abbott, and
Nathan left about fifteen minutes into the discussion, as their presence was no
longer needed.

* * * *

Kendra and Eric rode back to his yacht in her car so they
could talk while Ranger drove Eric’s Range Rover.

“Kendra, I have to be honest, tonight almost made me freak
and need to think again, but it has nothing to do with you, just with the idea
of what else might be out there that I don’t know about.” He shook his head,
rubbed his eyes. He was mentally and emotionally exhausted, and Kendra’s
stomach sank into her gut. Was learning about werewolves the last straw for
him?

“Anyway,” he continued, “my point is, I’m not going to pull
away from you. In fact, I think it might be better if I tell you how much you
mean to me. Ranger’s leaving tomorrow, and I’d like you to come to the yacht
tomorrow evening and do whatever you need, so you and I can talk in our heads.
And... I guess I need to know exactly what options there are? Is that the next
step, or the last one? Are there other things beyond? Things you haven’t told me
about?”

Kendra’s relief was a physical weight off her shoulders, and
she told him, “I was afraid you were never going to want to be tied to me
metaphysically. I will, of course, explain everything, and I’m touched you’ve
asked for it. It means a lot to me.”

She wasn’t obligated to tell him about Norris, though part
of her felt she should. She did want to clarify some things, though so she
said, “You told me a while back you didn’t want us to be exclusive, but if
you’re ready to take the next step metaphysically... I guess I just want to be
sure where we are. I don’t want any misunderstandings.”

“Why, are you seeing someone else I don’t know about?”

She could tell he was teasing, like he was sure she wasn’t
and it was a joke... but since the kiss with Norris was under her skin so much,
she needed to level with him. “No, not seeing someone. Not exactly. Someone
from my past showed up last night. He came without going through the proper
channels, and Abbott sent him back home, but he’ll likely return in a few months,
once he smooths everything over. He was waiting for me when I got home last
night, and we talked until dawn. He kissed me before we said goodbye, and then
again as we said goodbye, but it isn’t like we had sex or anything, and I
wouldn’t have kissed him if you hadn’t been so clear about us not being
exclusive, but... I guess I just need to know a little more about where you and
I stand.”

“If Abbott hadn’t sent him away, what would’ve happened
between the two of you?”

“I don’t know, Eric. Norris and I haven’t seen each other in
over a thousand years. We were about to get married when he was... when I
thought he was killed. He said it took him hundreds of years to heal before he
awakened, and then he wandered around Europe before coming to the U.S. He’s
been in New York a few months and finally heard news of me. I’ve been through a
half-dozen names since then, though ironically the one I’m using now is close
to the one he knew me as. At any rate, he had to find someone who knew me then
and now, which isn’t so easy to do, sometimes. But, I’ve changed a great deal
in the past thousand years, and I’m sure he has, too. We likely have nothing in
common anymore. Anyway, it’ll probably be at least two or three months before
he’ll be able to come back, so it’s a moot point right now.”

“I can’t stand the thought of you with someone else. I don’t
want to lose you.” He sighed as he looked out the front window, his voice
dejected as he said, “We’re close to the marina now, let’s talk about it
tomorrow night when we can have a proper conversation, okay?”

“Okay.”

As they walked to the boathouse with Ranger, it was obvious
he was still ticked at Kendra, but she was fine with him being pissed.

“Why are you with my nephew?” he asked when they’d climbed
onto the yacht.

“Because I like him. He grabs life by the ears and rides it
with all of his being.” She shrugged, not sure what else to say, but finally
came up with, “He’s special, and I care about him.”

Ranger turned to Eric. “How long did you know her before she
told you what she is?”

“About twenty-four hours, give or take a few hours.”

“So, she didn’t rope you in as a human and then tell you
what she was?” He sounded doubtful.

Ranger had asked Eric, but Kendra answered, “No, Ranger. I
was honest with him as soon as I could get permission. I’d have told him four
hours after we met, if I could’ve.”

“One more question, Kendra, and I want you to be honest with
me. Will having you in his life put Eric in danger?”

“You know there isn’t an absolute answer to your question.
Eric is officially under my protection, as well as Abbott’s, since your nephew
has done some consulting work for him.” In the long run, things would be easier
if she could get Ranger on her side, and acknowledging his connection to Eric
was a beginning. Telling him the steps she’d taken to protect Eric should also
help. “If anyone were to mess with him it’d be the same as messing with me or
Abbott, and if you’ve done any research at all, you know The Abbott is a force
to be reckoned with, and you’ve probably also discovered most in our world are
wary of going against
me
, as well. There are things worse than death,
and I’ve done most of them, when I needed to make a point.”

“What things worse than death?” Eric asked.

Kendra hadn’t considered how Eric would hear her words, and
she ignored Ranger’s cocky smile as she told Eric, “The supernatural world is
different from the human world — it’s more about survival of the fittest,
and if you don’t gain respect, you won’t survive long. Those in my world know
if they‘re my friend then I’ll move mountains for them, but if they do anything
to make an enemy of me, I’ll drop the mountains on their ass. Abbott is a great
leader, and has managed to cull this territory of most of the bad apples, so
there hasn’t been any major trouble in decades, but in past centuries I’ve
lived through a lot of trouble, and made a name for myself.”

She turned back to Ranger. “Short answer to your question?
Both Abbott and I will do everything in our power to keep him safe.”

The conversation moved to more mundane things, but she
hadn’t answered Eric’s question, and hoped he wouldn’t ask it again.

She once again left in time for Eric and Ranger to have some
time to talk without her, and went home with intentions of escaping into a good
novel until dawn.

Unfortunately, Abbott and Josef called her into the office
when she arrived.

“The Media Council has asked to see Eric.”

“Why?”

“They want an expert to consult with them on the best way to
be sure they’re alerted to every video game with supernaturals. Apparently,
with so many platforms games can be played on, and so many ways they’re
distributed, this is easier said than done.”

“Then we should find them a supernatural video game expert.
You know as well as I do, they have a tendency to
keep
the humans brought
to them, turning them into slave automatons who never see the light of day
again. They don’t operate in your territory, and the leaders still see humans
as nothing more than cattle, to be used as needed.”

“Brain isn’t interested in talking to them, and Aaron has a
few tech people on staff, but he isn’t interested in sending his people,
either. I found a young twenty-something Owl with impressive tech credentials,
and I’m negotiating with the Owl King to see if we can send her.”

Kendra hated the idea of sending someone in Eric’s place,
but an owl-shifter would have a better chance of surviving the council than
Eric. Still, the girl would be going against her will, forced by her King, who
would likely see her as nothing more than a chess piece to use to gain favor
with The Abbott.

Nodding, she told them, “Okay. If you need my help, let me
know.” She shook her head and went into formal mode, her tone of voice clearly
asking Abbott as her Master, instead of her friend. “I’d like permission to
begin teaching Eric how to resist becoming enthralled.”

Abbott shook his head. “You know what I need to hear before
I can give permission.”

She nodded. “Master, I believe the human to be a good
candidate for being turned.”

Abbott eyed Josef before looking back to her, clearly
unhappy with the request as well as the way they were getting around the rules,
but he said, “Permission granted to test the human.”

He hadn’t given her permission to teach him, but she could
give a certain amount of instruction during the testing phase, and Eric was
smart, and self-aware. It might be enough. She bent slightly at the waist as
she said, “Thank you, Master.”

“I appreciate you being clear you weren’t abusing our
friendship with the request. I trust you won’t go farther than we can legitimately
claim as testing, Kendra. We don’t want to find ourselves on thin ice with the
council.” He paused, looked off into space a moment as someone contacted him,
and then turned his back a few moments. When he faced them again, he said,
“Gavin is in South Carolina assisting The Swan Queen on my behalf. Mitroff’s
second is on the Media Council, and they are already dropping hints that if we
don’t back off in South Carolina, things will not go well for our people.”

Mitroff was the asshole Master Vampire in South Carolina,
and Abbott was making preparations to go to war to fight for the territory, if
he couldn’t manage to gain it politically. After decades of peace, Kendra
wasn’t looking forward to war, but agreed with Abbott’s reasons for taking over
South Carolina. They should’ve done it long ago, but politics and friendships
had stayed his hand. For a variety reasons, the way was open to him now, and he
intended to take it.

“Okay, then. You’ll need an expert on Mitroff’s second, and
if you don’t have anyone else in mind, I’ll volunteer.”

Abbott nodded and told Josef, “Get her everything we know
about him.” He looked back to her and said, “Sophia Siyanko-Drake has a treaty
with the Owl King. I’ll arrange an introduction and meeting through her. Would
you like to attend?”

“I would. What do we know of the girl?”

“She’s in her mid-twenties and makes nearly two hundred
grand a year at a world-class tech firm, so I’d say she’s likely skilled at her
job. She wears gender non-specific clothing and has short hair, and seems to
survive quite well in a world dominated by male geeks. She’s likely strong, so
hopefully she can handle herself with the council.”

Kendra wasn’t sure what to expect from Eric when she arrived
at the yacht the next evening. She had a feeling tonight would be a turning
point in their relationship, but was afraid it might be a turn for the worse,
as she’d felt him pulling back a little last night, despite the fact he said he
wouldn’t.

She halfway expected him to be waiting in the parking lot
again, and was relieved when he wasn’t. She made her way to his yacht, floated
up to it, and knocked on the door. After several minutes of no answer, and the
single heartbeat inside not moving, she finally let herself in since the door was
unlocked.

She found him in his office, drawing furiously. She called
his name, but he didn’t realize she was there until she put her hand into his
line of vision.

He jerked with surprise, looked at his watch, and said, “Oh,
I’m sorry! I hadn’t realized the time.” He looked at her, back to his paper,
and back up. “Can you let me get a few ideas on paper? While they’re fresh in
my mind?”

At her nod, he went back to furiously drawing, and she sat
and watched him, amazed at how quickly he made things spring from the paper.
After about ten minutes, he’d roughly sketched out three more pages. He neatly
lined them up and said, “Thanks. That should be enough to get me started again
tomorrow.”

He walked to her, pulled her to him, and kissed her as if
his soul thirsted for her, as if she was the only thing in the universe that
mattered, and suddenly she felt much better about the conversation to come.

When he pulled away, his fingers tenderly brushed her hair
away from her face and he said, “I guess now you know about the artist in me
who loses track of time and forgets to eat and sleep. I’ll tell you again how
sorry I am, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen again. Can you head to the
galley? I’ll use the restroom and meet you in there. I have some leftover
Chinese food I can nuke and then eat while you tell me everything there is to
know about whatever metaphysical things you can to do bind us together.”

Kendra sat on the bench seat in his little eating area, and
Eric joined her a few minutes later, grabbed a carton from the fridge, and
popped it in the microwave. “What you did the other night just made me not be
able to tell your secrets, it didn’t bind us together in any way, right?”

“It bound you enough so I know where you are if you tell the
secret, or think about telling the secret, and I have an idea of your intent
— whether it’s an attempt to just tell our secret outright, or whether
it’s the twenty questions hinting around nonsense. However, if you aren’t
telling the secret or thinking about telling the secret, then I won’t know
where you are.”

“So what’s the next step, or, I guess, the first step?”

“The next step makes it so we can speak telepathically. When
the connection is open I may be able to get a general idea of where you are,
but we’ll have to wait until the link is formed to see how much I get. At that
stage, if you know how to block, how to shield, then you can keep me from
talking to you, and from getting a general idea of where you are.”

“Is there something you can do so I’ll know where you are?”

“No, sorry. All of this has evolved so vampires could keep
track of their humans, not the other way around. But, you can mind link to me
at any time, ask me where I am, and I can tell you. Of course.”

“Okay, what’s the next step, after making it so you can mind
link to me? And how is that different than telepathing?”

“They’re the same. Vampires have always called it some
version of mind link, but it’s become easier to refer to it as telepathy, since
it’s already in most humans’ vernacular.” She crafted her next sentences
carefully, to be sure she stayed within Abbott’s parameters. “At the risk of
freaking you out again, I need to tell you that if I want to go into your head
and see what you’re thinking, I can, at any time. I can also go wandering
through your memories. I haven’t, and don’t intend to, but any strong vampire
with good control can do it. Well over half can read current thoughts, probably
around fifteen to twenty percent of us can look through your memories. If you
can learn to shield and block, you’ll at least know if someone is in your head,
even if you can’t stop them.

Eric looked at her a few seconds and asked. “Then why bother
with the mind link?”

“Because the mind link lets us project our thoughts to each
other — basic telepathy, so we’re talking. My ability to delve into your
thoughts won’t let us talk to each other.”

He sighed, looked at his hands a few seconds, and said,
“Okay. What’s the next step, after the mind link?”

“The next step makes it so we can share memories. We open
our minds to each other, and then remember something, and the other person sees
it. But, you need to know that once we hit that level, you may not be able to
block me from talking to you or knowing where you are. It pulls us that much
closer, and it takes a lot more skill for the human to block the mind link.
Many humans can’t — some learn how to do it after anywhere from a few
months to a few years, but some never figure it out. I don’t know what kind of
skills you’ll have in that area.”

“Is there a step beyond that?”

“Yes, but it’s intended for a human who’s planning to be
turned at some point, and trains you to keep your shields strong at all times,
since it’s imperative for vampires to do so.”

He was deftly eating the Chinese food with chopsticks now.
“I’d thought maybe we’d jump a step or two, but it sounds like they’re intended
to be done one at a time, to kind of let me learn about this shielding
business. Can you explain how one shields?”

“It’ll sound corny, but you really just imagine a shield
around you, and it’s there. The better your imagination, the better the shield.
The trick, though, is remembering to hold it there. When a child is potty
training, they have to learn to hold their muscles all the time, and only relax
them when sitting on the toilet. As an adult, you don’t even realize you’re
holding those muscles anymore, but learning how to do it was really hard.
Shielding is kind of the same, once you learn to do it and it becomes reflex,
you won’t even realize you’re holding it.”

“How do I imagine it in the first place?”

“First, you need to decide what kind of shield you think
would work best. Some use metal around them, some new vampires put themselves
in a big bulletproof glass bubble, some use space age foil like they supposedly
found at Roswell, some build up a pretty stone wall, others pour concrete
around them. Whatever you do, it needs to enclose you on the sides as well as
the top and bottom, and it needs to let clean energy in all of the time, but
nothing else without your permission. It should be a few feet out from your
body, so it encloses your aura. It can be any material you want, as long as
your imagination will make that material hold off any kind of metaphysical
attack.”

“I kind of like the space age foil idea, made into a huge
beach ball around me.”

“Very good, whatever feels good is what’s right for you.
Some prefer an egg shape, but if the beach ball makes more sense, go with it.
Imagine it around you, and make sure it can change shape as you sit, stand, or
sleep.”

“How do I know if it’s working?”

“Finish eating and we’ll go down below for our next
conversation.”

* * * *

Kendra turned music on upstairs before they went below to
the bedroom, and she closed the door and turned different music on downstairs.

“It’s important you don’t tell anyone I’ve shown you any of
this. I got permission by insinuating I was considering you as a candidate to
turn into a vampire.”

“Are you?” Eric didn’t think she was, but needed to be sure.

She shook her head. “I need to teach you some things, and
testing to be sure you can learn what’s necessary to manage the metaphysics
once you’re a vampire can possibly show you what you need to know.” She sat on
the bed, pulled her legs up and crossed them, and motioned in front of her.
“Join me on the bed and get comfortable. I’m going to probe into your head to
see what your thoughts are, and I want you to tell me when I’m in. Make sure
you’re thinking something you won’t mind me seeing.”

“And if I don’t want you in my head?”

“If I’m going to teach you how to keep us out, you’re going
to have to be able to recognize when we’re in, Eric.”

The thought of someone in his head when he didn’t know they
were there, struck fear into him on a visceral level, and he asked, “You think
someone’s going to poke around in my head?”

“Since your video game will sell worldwide, and not just in
Abbott’s territory, he has to go to people higher than him to obtain
permission. This has brought you to the attention of people I’d rather you
remained invisible to.”

“Abbott didn’t tell me I’d put myself in danger.”

She sighed. “It shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry I can’t
explain why it did. Not yet, anyway. Are you ready for me?”

Eric took a breath, closed his eyes, and thought of hang
gliding as he nodded. At first, it was just him thinking of how it felt to
glide above the earth, soaring like a bird of prey over his domain… but then,
he felt as if he weren’t alone in his thoughts. If he hadn’t been looking for
it, he likely wouldn’t have noticed, and he still couldn’t put a finger on how
he knew, but he did.

He opened his eyes and said, “That’s creepy.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but it makes me want to learn to hang
glide even more. Okay, this time I want you to imagine your space-foil shield
around you, and then think of something. See if you can keep me out of your
thoughts with your shield.”

Kendra had mentioned making it an oval instead of a circle,
and he decided to use an egg shape around him. The material would be shiny on
the outside, dull on the inside, and would reflect back whatever someone tried
to do to him.

“Okay,” he told her, “it’s up.”

He tried to think of hang gliding while holding the shield,
but soon discovered how hard it was to do both. While he thought of the keeping
her out, he thought it worked, but when he sank into how it felt to hang glide,
he felt her presence again. Instead of asking out loud, he asked in his head,
How do I keep the shield up and think of other things, too?

“It takes practice,” she told him out loud.

He opened his eyes and asked, “When I focused on the shield,
it kept you out, right? I wasn’t imagining that it worked?”

“Yes, which is impressive for your first attempt. You could
likely keep someone out now, if you knew they were probing, but you need more
practice recognizing when one of us is in your head. I’ve done all I can
legally do to teach you, though. You need to research shielding on your own.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handwritten note. “This is the
name of a good book on metaphysical shielding in general. It wasn’t written
with vampires in mind, but it teaches good techniques. Meanwhile, if I have
your permission to poke into your head every once in a while to test and see if
you can sense me, I can give you some practice.”

Eric didn’t want her randomly in his head — he
understood why they needed to practice, but couldn’t bring himself to give her
the permission she asked for. He shook his head. “Let me read the book and
practice some on my own, and then talk about it again.”

“Okay,” she looked hesitant as she asked, “Are you still
interested in my binding you so we can speak through a mind link?”

“How is it different?”

“I’ll only ‘hear’ what you intend me to, and it’ll give me
the option of speaking back to you telepathically. It’s completely different
than what happens when I take a peek at your thoughts, or poke through your
memories. By design, you can’t hear me when I’m in your head, so I don’t
accidentally give myself away.”

Her explanation made sense, and he nodded as he said, “What
do we have to do?”

“It works the same as the other binding, but you won’t have
to take an oath, and I’ll put a different, ahh, cocktail, into your
bloodstream, when I bite you.”

She was nervous, and at first he thought it was because of
something to do with the process, but then his heart hurt as he realized she
was afraid he’d get scared and run again. He couldn’t let her think he was
going to flake out again, but he had questions. “Is this going to be another
orgasmic thing?”

“It can be, doesn’t have to be.”

Her voice had been businesslike while she explained
everything, but now he saw heat in her ice blue eyes, heard warmth in her
voice, and his cock swelled at her words. “Can we maybe get undressed and do
it, so we can have sex, and then at the end you could bite me
again
, and
do the orgasm thing then?”

Her happy smile lit her face, and he could see her affection
for him as she teasingly said, “Yes, but I don’t want to bite your neck twice
tonight, so I’ll put the first bite at your groin.”

His hard-on pulsed in time with his heart as he thought of
her biting so close to his cock.

* * * *

Kendra smelled arousal and
nice
hit of adrenaline. Oh
yes, he wanted this. What she didn’t tell him was that she could put something
in her bite to give him a raging hard-on to make him hornier than he could
imagine, and would keep him from reaching climax until her next bite.

However, as she considered it, she realized she had to tell
him or risk blowing his trust. Many human males loved having it done and didn’t
mind not knowing ahead of time, but Eric was a Dom and didn’t appreciate being
out of control.

“I have something I can do with my bite. It’ll give you kind
of a super hard-on, and then you won’t come until I bite you at the end. It
puts me in control of when your orgasm happens. Are you okay with that?”